Wienermobile driven with relish

College grads enjoy their opportunity to pilot this hot dog on wheels

Updated 9:42 am, Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

Media: Times Union

COLONIE — What measures 60 hot dogs long, 24 hot dogs high and weighs as much as 140,000 hot dogs? Why, the Wienermobile, of course.

The iconic marketing machine is in town through Sunday, piloted by two cheerful recent college grads with special nicknames chosen for their jobs aboard the Wienermobile. "Beefalicious" Ben Urkov, 23, and "Tailgatin'" Theresa Brenner, 22, were among 1,300 people who applied to be one of 12 Oscar Mayer Hotdoggers. They are spending a year driving one of the six Wienermobiles that cruise the country. The job is "a mix of making people happy and promoting Oscar Mayer," said Brenner, who, six months into the job still can't believe her good fortune.

The Hotdoggers make appearances at stores that carry Oscar Mayer products and participate in community events. They hand out red plastic wiener whistles and allow visitors to step aboard.

Urkov wouldn't reveal a Hotdogger's salary, but said it was fair for an entry level job and includes room and board, health care and built-in sightseeing.

Brenner, from Deerfield, Ill., graduated from Ohio State with a political science degree. She will attend law school when her hot dogging days are over. Urkov, from Cincinnati, has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and wants a career in marketing.

Mara Erdman, 2, of Niskayuna lights up when she sees the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Mara Erdman, 2, of Niskayuna lights up when she sees the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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Mara Erdman, 2, of Niskayuna, right, joins her mother, Emily, as they look over the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Mara Erdman, 2, of Niskayuna, right, joins her mother, Emily, as they look over the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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Children settle inside the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Children settle inside the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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Jennifer Lamont of Albany, center, carries her daughter Tilly, 1, from inside the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Jennifer Lamont of Albany, center, carries her daughter Tilly, 1, from inside the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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John Lamont, 6, of Albany blows his wiener whistle after visiting the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

John Lamont, 6, of Albany blows his wiener whistle after visiting the Wienermobile on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, at The Crossings in Colonie, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

Wienermobile driven with relish

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The drivers attended two weeks of training to learn how to drive the Wienermobile. It has a camera for help backing up, but they rarely use it. Instead, whoever is driving depends on the other Hotdogger to jump out and act as a guide in tight spots. Urkov was at the wheel last week during the German-American Steuben Parade in New York City. He said it tested his driving skills, but the big Wienermobile was unscathed. The drivers are eager to win "ZA" (zero accidents) medals when they return the vehicle to Oscar Mayer.

The rig is a 2009 vehicle with 112,333 miles on it — 20,000 of them since Brenner and Urkov took the wheel. Oscar Mayer has a service agreement with Penske, which provides oil changes and other automotive needs to the fleet, as well as a safe spot to park when the Hotdoggers are on vacation.

More Information

You can see the Wienermobile at the following events:

• Wednesday from 6 to 10 p.m. at Albany Law School's Trick or Treat Street, at the 1928 Building on New Scotland Ave., Albany.

• Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Albany Devils hockey game, at the Times Union Center, 51 S. Pearl St., Albany.

• On Sunday, the Wienermobile was at Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs for a charity foot race.

Post your pictures with the Wienermobile to the Times Union's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/albanytimesunion). One favorite photo will be chosen with the winner getting a collection of "wienermobilia."

The Wienermobile was built on a GMC truck chassis and has Chevrolet components. Everything else is customized. The truck has a "lambo-wienie" door and six yellow leather captain's chairs, each embroidered with little Wienermobiles. An image of a hot dog with mustard on it makes up the floor, and the ceiling (which has a sunroof), boasts an image of blue sky and puffy white clouds. A Fiberglas frankfurter sits on the dash in front of the driver and "shotbun" seats. The back end of the hot dog serves as a closet for Brenner and Urkov's luggage and Oscar Mayer uniforms.

It's plenty big enough for the Hotdoggers to sleep aboard, a question they hear a lot on the road. But they stay in hotels. The Wienermobile is not a "Wieniebago."

Urkov and Brenner have visited 16 states since June and made stops in Boston, New York City, Lansing, Mich., Scranton, Pa., Baltimore, and towns across Maine, Connecticut, Delaware and New Jersey. In their free time along the way, they visited Niagara Falls, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Freedom Trail in Boston and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Typically, the Hotdoggers have a day for drive time and two days off each week, but they often spend off days aboard the vehicle. In Scranton, they made friends with a family who invited them over for a home-cooked meal. Afterward, Urkov and Brenner took everyone out for ice cream in the Wienermobile. They spend more time together than average co-workers, but said they get along well, and, fortunately, enjoy the same music.

When the Wienermobile pulled into The Crossings of Colonie park on Tuesday, the adults and children on the playground stopped and stared as it approached. When Urkov parked, everyone came over to take pictures and peek inside. Seth and Jennifer Lamont watched their four children climb in and out of vehicle, and gleefully unwrap wiener whistles.